Scott McLaughlin went two years without seeing his own family, and victory at Mid-Ohio by holding off defending champion Álex Palou in the closing laps had a special flavor
Scott McLaughlin held off Spaniard Álex Palou to win the Mid-Ohio GP on Sunday (3). Starting from the second position, the New Zealander took the lead after the first round of pit-stops and didn't let the reigning IndyCar champion get away. This was McLaughlin's second victory in the category, his second in 2022.
After spending two years without seeing his family because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Scott was able to celebrate the result with his parents, who were present at the racetrack. The celebration also came one day before the traditional 4th of July holiday, when America's independence is celebrated, and the Penske driver revealed that he may have a new talisman.
"It's amazing, I really wanted to be able to win here for my dad and my mom. Having them here was super special, it's America's weekend, last night I was dressed up as an eagle, maybe I should do that every 4th of July weekend!" joked the New Zealander.
The victory at Mid-Ohio ended in a similar fashion to McLaughlin's triumph in St. Pete in the opening round of the 2022 Indy season. On both occasions, Palou pushed with his Ganassi and gave Scott no easy life, but was never able to actually attempt a maneuver to seek the victory.
"It was tough, I was thinking about the fuel, Chevrolet helped us a lot and I had good restarts that allowed me to open a small lead for [Álex] Palou. So I'm very proud of my team, the car they gave me, it was a little bit harder at the end, I would have loved to have had an easier life. But I'm super proud, the team made great pit-stops and I'm very happy!" celebrated McLaughlin.
With the result, McLaughlin is currently seventh in the Indy standings with 252 points. Swede Marcus Ericsson, from Ganassi, is the leader, with 321 points. The series returns on July 17th for the Toronto GP.